A new military offensive to retake the Tel Afar area west of Mosul City began on 20 August 2017 and was almost completed by 31 August. In the week prior to the onset of hostilities, almost 19,000 people fled, doubling the total number displaced in the previous three months (OCHA).

177,100 people received kits with immediate response items, a 9 per cent increase compared to July. The majority (81 percent) were reached in Ninewa. Since January 2017, more than 2.1 million vulnerable people received RRM.

In August, UNICEF assessed 106 Ninewa schools for rehabilitation, in coordination with the Directorate of Education (DoE).

UNICEF supported the Directorate of Health (DoH) to provide emergency vaccination and MUAC screening services at two mustering points receiving displaced people from Tel Afar. In August, 2,690 children under 15 received polio immunization and 2,602 children were vaccinated against measles.

UNICEF expanded WASH services into the new Nimrud camp. As of August, the camp held 1,500 families, or around 9,000 individuals (total capacity is 3,600 plots or 22,000 individuals), at least half of them children.

Water trucking continued to 12 neighbourhoods in West Mosul City, supporting access to safe water for 104,000 individuals, as well as supply for 14 villages in Bashiqa and Telkeif serving over 65,400 people.

IRAQ HUMANITARIAN SITUATION REPORT AUGUST 2017

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

A new military offensive to retake the Tel Afar area west of Mosul City began on 20 August 2017. By 31 August Iraq Security Forces (ISF) had retaken most of the district, with some fighting ongoing in one remaining sub-district. Between April and August, humanitarian partners documented approximately 43,000 people leaving Tel Afar district1, with almost 19,000 people fleeing during August alone2. The offensive progressed faster than anticipated, and with lower numbers of displaced than expected. Those leaving the area cited shortage of food, water, and other basic items as drivers of displacement and many people arriving at mustering points were exhausted and dehydrated. Protection concerns remain regarding the disappearance and detention of boys and men from the area. A reported 1,400 foreign nationals, mostly women and including 850 children, also fled the area, and are now sheltered at a transit site in northern Ninewa.

For people perceived to be affiliated to Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the risks of retaliation and abuse are high. A new IDP camp, Nimrod, was opened by the Government, with space for 1,800 families. Even with this additional capacity, new arrivals have increased strain on infrastructure and services, including water and sanitation, health, and education. Security and humanitarian access remains fluid in Ninewa and high levels of damage mean reconstruction will be a lengthy process. It is estimated that Mosul’s Old City alone has 11 million tonnes of debris for clearance3. In other areas, humanitarian partners are planning for further displacement of around 60-85,000 people from Hawiga, near Kirkuk; and in western Anbar reports are received of increases in the number of people fleeing Al Qaim, a town still held by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). To accommodate increases in internally displaced people (IDP), the Government opened an extension site at Kilo-18 (Anbar), and is transferring families from Kilo-18 to Ameriyat al Fallujah and Khalidiyah camps (Anbar).